Written by Rod Serling and directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, the drama is set during the darkest period of the Korean War, focusing on the stress of command in sacrificing troops in combat.

The running time was 59:21, including breaks hosted by Betty Furness, promoting Westinghouse refrigerators, stoves, room air conditioners, and dehumidifiers.

Major Gaylord (played by James Daly), a professional soldier who also served in World War II, commands the 29th Regiment, a 500-soldier infantry unit that is pinned down on a river bank after sustaining heavy casualties.

The previous day, Gaylord had deployed a platoon of 20 soldiers on a patrol to assess the enemy's strength and location.

Gaylord wants to strip off his conscience and "inject something into my immortal soul to make me numb so that I'll quit feeling, so that I'll be a commanding officer instead of my brother's keeper."

[1][2] The play was produced by Felix Jackson, directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, and written for television by Rod Serling.

In February 1960, it was produced as part of Great Britain's Armchair Theatre under the title "Come In, Razor Red".

[2] Serling was pleased with the work and wrote a feature-length screenplay under the title The Cold Day in Hell.

In July 1956, he wrote: "Quite immodestly I'll state that I think it's a power house and should make a corker of a movie."